For a lot of us Fantasy Sports is just an another way of saying Fantasy Cricket and this is mainly because of our crazy involvement in Cricket. Just like Cricket has overshadowed all the other games in India, Fantasy Cricket has suppressed the presence of other forms of Fantasy Sports.
Very few of us are aware of the fact that Fantasy Sports covers a wide range of games and Fantasy Football has emerged as the second most prominent in the list. Even though it attracts millions of users worldwide it is till an unknown entity in the communities of our country. Those who play it actively believe that because of the unpredictable nature of the game (Football) and its fast movement (leading to fair chances for every player to earn fantasy points), it gets much more exciting than Fantasy Cricket.
We are introducing you to one of our elite user Nilesh, who started playing Fantasy Football because of his passion for Football and now has become an avid player. Read on to know his experiences and responses to some interesting questions, that he shared with our team.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where you grew up, went to school, what you did before Daily Fantasy Sports(DFS).
I am Nilesh Gupta (NEILREDEDEVIL) from Mumbai, have done MBA in Finance. Currently I’m a professional cricketer playing divisional cricket in Mumbai.
When did you start playing on HalaPlay and what was your introduction to it?
I started in October 2017. My younger brother told me about this when I used to search online for some alternative source of income and believe me HalaPlay has come like a blessing in that regard.
Tell us a bit about your Daily Fantasy journey. The struggles you had and successes.
It’s an ongoing process, you can’t win all the time and you should have the heart to bear losses. Losing is a part of the process of earning.
I believe that if you keep trying, you might not win big immediately BUT You Will, eventually.
Seeing that you have a preference for Daily Fantasy Football, what makes you come back to it?
‘My passion for football’ because I’m following it since my childhood days and on top of it, I am a Die Hard Manchester United Fan.
While choosing your fantasy football draft what is your criteria for choosing players (Current form, past records etc.)
Mostly I go on current form. It’s different for different teams, so I try predicting the tentative score and accordingly draft my best combination.
Does your strategy take into consideration match venue (home/away) for a particular team?
Yes, venue plays a big part in Football matches. It is MUST to consider the match venue in Fantasy Football.
How much does player position affect your drafting strategy (ST/MID/DEF)?
Player position is inevitably vital. You get to know the importance of any player from the exact position he is playing for, in the match. I generally prefer defenders more over any other players because I feel they have better chances of giving my fair amount of fantasy points compared to players at any other position AND I’ve noticed that it actually works.
What is your general strategy while choosing a captain for fantasy football. Does this strategy change while playing multi-entry leagues and single entry small leagues?
Not very choosy about picking a Captain actually. I stick with the same captain mostly.
Do you think a team’s position in the league is a vital pointer to consider in drafting your fantasy team or is it just about individual player’s stats?
League position of a team does matter because that somehow indicates the form of teams and ultimately its players.
Seeing that earning through DFS takes a lot of time and dedication, how do you balance your work life with playing DFS?
Frankly, it takes lot of efforts and research. At times, I have to sacrifice my sleep too.
But I manage it somehow and now since I’m kind of addicted to Fantasy Football (thanks to HalaPlay), it’s all worth it.
Which was your best day on HalaPlay and what do you remember about it?
I still remember that special day, it was Zimbabwe Vs Afghanistan T20I match, I guess sometime in January. I won across almost all leagues and got a profit of around ₹26,000. That was the happiest moment because I know for a fact that it’s not easy to win in Cricket and I had not played Fantasy Cricket for quite sometime then.
Do you follow any pages/channels/sites for drafting the best combination of players?
Not really, I use my own instinct mostly. Very rarely, I follow few Football Apps.
If you had one piece of advice to offer to a player new to DFS in terms of strategy, what would it be and why?
Loss minimisation is the key because you just can’t win in each and every match. If you feel that a match is not easy Or there are high chances of huge participation then I’d suggest that you shouldn’t invest too much. Winning in one league and then loosing in 3 others doesn’t really make sense.
Never underestimate the power of ‘Research’, just like any other field, it is needed here as well, be it Fantasy Football or Fantasy Cricket. You need to do it if you want to be successful on a regular basis.
Where do you see yourself down the road in regards to DFS? Do you want there to be a long-term thing for you? What things do you hope to accomplish as a result of DFS success?
I perceive Fantasy Sports very seriously as it has given me some great results in the past and so I want to continue playing it for a long term. Not to forget, it is one of the very few viable sources of income present out there. In addition, it also allows me to follow my passion for sports by keeping in touch all the time.
This can be your story as well and even you can feature in the editions of our ‘Player Of The Week’. Keep playing regularly & sincerely and who knows one day it could be you answering all these questions.
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